106 PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY
MAY 2009 RANK...
COUNCILLOR BACKS GLOSSOP CAB RANK PLAN
A bid to open a 24 hour a day taxi rank on Henry Street has been backed by a leading local councillor. Jacqui Wilkinson says extending the hours of the currently evenings- only rank will be an improvement. She says the nearby Norfolk Street taxi zone can’t cope with the number of cabs using it. And with it being on a slope, there was also a ‘question mark’ over its suitability for the dis- abled and for parents with children in push- chairs. She told the Glossop Chronicle: “Increased availability of taxis will reduce the time rev- ellers are hanging around the town centre, thus reducing the potential for incidents of antisocial behaviour. “Now is the time to sup- port the taxi operators and residents in ensur- ing that the proposals
for the taxi rank
become reality. “We need to bite the bullet and get things moving. There is a defi- nite need for another rank in a suitable loca- tion within the town centre close to the train station.” Cllr Wilkinson was speaking after Henry Street traders said they did not want a daytime rank. They claimed it would cre- ate problems on a street where buses stop and disabled peo- ple park and would further affect deliveries to the shops. Cllr Wilkinson went on: “I have been pushing for an additional rank for years and I am pleased these new pro- posals have been put forward. “In my view, the bene- fits to the residents of Glossop far outweigh the negatives of such a rank.”
LOSS OF KINGSBRIDGE RANKS ‘HIT ELDERLY AND DISABLED’
Cab drivers in Kings- bridge claim their elderly and disabled customers are being clobbered by a county council decision to snatch away almost one third of the town’s taxi ranks in one go. A pair of taxi parking spaces have disap- peared in the wake of a £105,000 road safety improvement scheme. The taxi drivers’ main concern is the loss of the Fore Street taxi space which was directly opposite the town’s post office and vital for people who are forced to use taxis to get up the steep street. Now Kingsbridge’s town mayor Rufus Gilbert is demanding to know why the town’s taxi drivers were not consulted before the taxi spaces were taken away. And cabbies’ spokes- man Steve Russell told the Torquay Herald
LOOPHOLE LEAVES
FRUSTRATED MELTON DRIVERS SEEING RED
Frustrated taxi drivers claim they’re being blocked out of their only town centre rank due to a lack of parking enforcement. Dean Cardwell, of Val- ley Taxis, said he’d been informed by high- ways officials that the bay in Sherrard Street couldn’t be enforced, meaning anyone can park there without being penalised. And with Dominos Pizza due to open in front of the bay, Mr Cardwell fears taxis will have even less chance of getting onto the rank, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. He told the Melton Times: “Taxis haven’t been able to get on there for four weeks. It’s ridiculous. They’re the only spaces actual- ly in town and not on the edge of it. We need a rank that’s central in
the town.” Mr Cardwell claimed drivers were also unhappy after being notified by Melton Council of increased licence fees. He added: “I think the council has a cheek putting prices up when we’re in the middle of a recession. Now we find out the taxi rank isn’t enforce- able. We’re paying for services it’s not pro- viding.” A County Hall spokesman said: “An issue with the lining of the taxi bays in Sher- rard Street prevented
has enforce-
ment. Works to rectify the issue have been ordered and it’s antici- pated
the that
enforcement, by park- ing attendants, will resume in the next fort- night. Given
concerns raised, addi-
tional emphasis will be placed on future enforcement and the situation closely moni- tored.” A Melton Council spokeswoman said let- ters regarding fees were sent out to the taxi trade to make them aware of the increases in time for April 1, thereby
trying to
ensure renewals or applications wouldn’t be delayed by the wrong fee being sub- mitted. She said: “This year’s increase is, in fact, smaller than previous years. The large rise in petrol prices last year was a factor in keeping the increase to a minimum, but unfortunately income
the generated
from taxi licence fees still falls short of the actual cost of the licensing service.”
Express: “The one in Fore Street was the vital one because it is outside the post office in the Spar shop. “We are incensed by it not for ourselves but for our customers. We have regulars who we take there every day of the week.We only need one space up there but it’s a vital space.” Mr Russell pointed out that there are 25 taxi drivers based in Kings- bridge and until now there were just eight spaces. The five on The Quay are still there but the other three have now been taken away. Mr Gilbert said that he understood that there had been no consulta- tion with the cabbies over the changes and added: “I canwell under- stand their concern and sympathise and have instructed the town clerk to send on my behalf the concerns direct to the highways authority.”
CLAMPDOWN ON
CABBIE PARKING IN WARRINGTON
A clampdown on the illegal use of hackney carriage ranks could see motorists face prosecution for parking in the wrong spot. According to the War- rington
Midweek
Guardian, guidelines on what kind of action should be taken against vehicles parking in hackney carriage ranks are set to be decided upon by Warrington Borough Council’s Taxi and other licences com- mittee. They will also decide whether
to
approve measures that would see repeat offenders face immedi- ate prosecution. Following the closure of Bridge Street to all traf- fic
on weekend
evenings the hackney carriage ranks across the town centre have become more crowded. The closure has caused taxi drivers to complain that many of the reduced spaces
available for them are taken up by vehicles not licensed to park there, leaving traffic conditions troublesome as the ranks become full and stop drivers from picking up fares. The measures will see the council’s enforce- ment team tackle the problem of drivers who park in the ranks illegal- ly. They will also extend the rules to hackney cab owners who leave the vehicles unattended. For a first offence a warning will be hand- ed out but if offenders are caught again they will be prosecuted. If they are caught again they will face prosecu- tion straight away. If a hackney carriage owner is caught for a third time they will then be referred to the taxi licensing sub-commit- tee for a review of their licence.
YEOVIL’S CABBIES CLOSE RANKS IN CAMPAIGN FOR MORE TAXI RANK SPACE
Taxi drivers in Yeovil are set to draw ranks in a battle over the lack of provision in the town. A meeting was held last month where driv- ers discussed the poor treatment
they feel
they are receiving from the local authorities. Driver Tim Hayers, who has organised the meeting with a colleague Dave Lilley, said an official of the GMB union will be at the meeting to recruit so a united front can be presented to fight South Somerset Dis- trict Council over a number of issues. One of the main prob- lems
they taxi are
experiencing is the lack of
rank
spaces in Yeovil. Mr Hayers said there are eight spaces at the main rank in Silver Street which is not
enough, and to com- pound matters, drivers who sit on double yel- low lines behind the rank waiting to move into a space as it becomes vacant, are likely to fall victim to police community sup- port officers who are under orders
to
pounce on them. “Since the council opened it up so any- one can get a licence if they meet the crite- ria, there are 18 to 20 cars fighting for just eight spaces on Silver Street,” he told the Western Gazette. “The rank needs mov- ing from Silver Street. The ideal place would be King George Street, which
could be
opened up just for taxis. Or they could start a rank outside the Green Room restau- rant which comes round upper Middle
Street where it used to be. We need room to park at least 15 cars.” In response to the concerns, Julia Brad- burn,
principal
licensing official at the district council, said: “We have a duty to provide enough taxis to serve the needs of the public, and of course we also need to provide enough taxi ranks to accommo- date people’s needs for taxis so they don’t have to wait too long. “What we don’t have is a duty to provide addi- tional waiting spaces for taxis who want to wait near ranks where there are already ample taxis waiting to pick people up, nor spend
taxpayers’
money on providing more space for extra taxis to park in at times when not all of the taxis are in use.”
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